Denton police officer, Bryan Cose, receives honor

Traffic Patrol Officer Bryan Cose received an award at the Denton Police Department on Wednesday for being one of the top 10 leading officers in the state for driving while intoxicated arrests reported in 2012.

Denton police Traffic Patrol Officer
Bryan Cose said he was just doing his job this past year, and before he knew
it, he had made at least 70 driving while intoxicated arrests.

Caleb Williams, spokesman for the Texas
Municipal Police Association, said Cose’s arrests rank him as one of the top 10
leading officers in the state for DWI arrests.

Williams said Cose’s arrests are what
the Law Enforcement Advanced DUI/DWI Reporting System, or LEADRS, program is
all about.

“LEADRS is a reporting tool that helps
streamline the process of DWI/DUI arrests,” Williams said before he awarded
Cose with a certificate to honor his accomplishments.

A small get-together for Cose was held
Wednesday afternoon in the Denton police station, where he received
congratulations from co-workers.

LEADRS, funded by a Save a Life grant
through the Texas Department of Transportation, was created by the Texas
Municipal Police Association to address a major issue Texas administrators
began to notice in 2001.

“DWI fatalities were on the rise, but
enforcement wasn’t,” Williams said.

With help from various entities and law
professionals, LEADRS came about in the early 2000s, he said.

The system helps with compiling forms
and creating a system that integrates, consolidates and simplifies the required
reporting information for DUI/DWI arrests while working with existing record
management systems to ensure a smooth integration process, according to
information on the LEADRS website.

“Before [using the reporting system],
paperwork for a DWI arrest took longer than a homicide,” said Williams, a
former Texas Department of Public Safety trooper.

A typical DWI arrest can take an officer
anywhere from six to eight hours to complete because of all the paperwork,
Williams said.

“That’s a night shift,” he said.

Williams said LEADRS helps to cut the
time in half and can lead to three or four arrests an evening, instead of the
usual one.

“Timing is very crucial — when you have
someone being charged with a DWI, you have to have the required nine to 10
forms filled out while the person still contains alcohol in his/her system,” he
said. “I’ve known some guys that will complete an arrest within an
hour-and-a-half now with this tool.”

Since the program’s inception, more than
400 law enforcement agencies across the state are using the program and it
doesn’t cost the agencies a penny.

“All because of the grant from TxDOT
that we are very grateful for,” Williams said. “They are really helping to save
lives on the roads.”

The only agencies that pay are those out
of state. Currently, Arizona, Georgia and Oklahoma agencies also use the
reporting system.

The Denton Police Department has used
the new reporting tool for a year.

Cose, a graduate of the University of
North Texas, said it’s important to choose to be proactive through DWI
offenses.

“I have had to do both ways of reporting
DWI offenses and this one makes things much more quick and efficient to get us
[officers] back on the streets,” said Cose, a nine-year veteran with the
department.

“I wasn’t aware of any awards for DWI
arrests; I was just doing my job. I do appreciate the honor receiving it,” he
said.

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